Hussites
The Hussites were the followers of Jan Huss, a Czech theologian who, in the late 14th and early 15th century challenged to doctrines of the Catholic church, including some of those that would later be challenged by Martin Luther, such as indulgences. The Hussites rose up after the Huss was burned at the stake for heresy. The church declared a Crusade against the Hussites, whose commander, Jan Zizka, responded with innovative tactics known as Wagenberg, in which a ring of wagons, lined with spearmen, crossbowmen, and hand cannoneers were successfully used to defeat larger forces of armored knights. The Hussites were among the first military forces to sucessfully use gunpowder-based weapons in battle. The Hussites under Jan Zizka were never defeated in battle, even after he was blinded by an enemy arrow, and Zizka himself was only put out of action after he died of the bubonic plague in 1424. It took five crusades, until 1434 to defeat the Hussite Revolt. Battle vs. Song Soldier (by SPARTAN 119) Hussites: Song Dynasty Warrior: Five Hussite Rebels wheel a Bombard along a road. Over the next hill, five Song Dynasty soldiers lie in wait with a shot cannon at the ready. The Song Warriors fired the shot cannon, the blast of shot killing two Hussites. The Hussite bombard gunner fired the cannon, impacting the shot cannon and blowing it apart, killing a Song Warrior manning the gun. The Song soldiers charge at the weakened group of Hussites. Only to be greeted by a volley of hand cannon and arbalest fire. A Song soldier armed with a quiang is taken down with a hand cannon shot to the chest. A Song soldier returns fire with repeating crossbow, killing a Hussite hand cannon gunner. . The Chinese crossbowman, however, is struck down by a bolt from an arbalest . A Hussite picks up a pike and attempts to impale a charging Song Warrior, but the Song warrior fires his fire lance, killing the Hussite pikeman with a blast of shot. . The last Hussite attacks the Song soldier with the fire lance. The soldier draws his Jian, but the Hussite gets his longsword around the jian and stabs the Chinese soldier through the chest. The last Song soldier disarms the Hussite with a meteor hammer, pulling away his sword. The Hussite dodges a blow with from the meteor hammer and grabs as spiked flail. The Song soldier makes an overhead attack with the meteor hammer, missing and leaving his head exposed. The Hussite strikes the Song soldier over the head with the flail, crushing his skull and killing him instantly. WINNER: Hussite Rebel Expert's Opinion The Hussites won easily due to highly superior weapons, and marginal amounts of superiority in armor, training, and tactics. To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here. Battle vs. Ikkō-ikki (by SPARTAN 119) Hussite Rebels: Ikko-ikki Rebels: Four Ikko-ikki rebels walked out of a forest, into an open field with a Hussite war wagon in the middle, defended by five Hussite rebels. The Ikko-ikki assume the Hussite to be hostile and one of them opens fire with a tanegashima musket, killing one of the Hussites with a shot the head. . The Hussite grabbed their weapons and got into the war wagon, taking cover behind the armored sides of the wagon. One of the Hussites took aim with his arbalest and killed the Ikko-ikki musketeer, killing him with a bolt to the chest. An ikki returned fire with a yumi, but the shots just bounced off the armored sides of the war wagon. The Ikko ikki archer put down the bow and drew a katana, charging along with his fellows at the Hussites in the war wagon. As the Ikko-ikki drew nearer, two Hussites in the wagon, both armed with hand cannons, fired out of the gunports in the side of the wagon. Two ikko-ikki rebels were struck by hand cannon bullets to the chest and fell to the ground, dead. . As the three remaining Ikko-ikki got nearer, the surviving Hussites got out their melee weapons- halberds, swords, and flails. A Hussite with a longsword led the counterattack, however, he was impaled on the blade of a naginata. A Hussite with a halberd pushed aside the naginata with his polearm and then stabbed the Ikko-ikki with the spear point, before finishing off the wounded man with the axe head of his halberd. . The Ikko-ikki survivor sliced the head off of one of the Hussites with his katana , before turning his attention to the other Hussites, one of whom had a flail, and the other a longsword. The Hussite with the flail swung at the Ikko-ikki, who tried to block, but the chain got stuck around the katana, and the Hussite pulled the blade away. The Ikko-ikki drew a kusarigama and tried to keep the two Hussites at bay by swinging the weapon wildly. The kusarigama, however, got tangled with the Hussite's flail. The ikko-ikki did not lose his grip on his weapon this time, and charged at the Hussite, swinging the scythe end of the kusarigama at the Hussite's neck. The kusarigama, however, was suddenly blocked by a longsword. The other Hussite stood between the Ikko-ikki and his comrade. The Hussite then thrust his sword through the rebel's chest, easily piercing the light leather armor he wore, and killing him. . The victorious Hussite helped his comrade up and got back in the war wagon, hitching up the horses. They had to get back to friendly lines before more enemies showed up. WINNER: Hussite Rebels Expert's Opinion While the Ikko-ikki had more advanced firearm technology, the Hussites won this battle mainly because of their innovative tactics, such as the use of armored wagons. These tactics allowed the Hussites to win this battle, much as they did many times in reality against armored knights. To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here. Category:Warriors Category:European Warriors Category:Rebels Category:Black Powder Warriors Category:Real Warriors Category:Historical Warriors Category:Group Warriors Category:Medieval Warriors